The naming of cats is a difficult matter

[a.r.dobbs]

Or state the inevitable and call it "Master"

[ceastman]

Oooo, what a darling! Her coloring looks rather like our cat Callie (for calico - our neighbor named her). Hmm.. I like Puck. Maybe something that will be appropriate for a longhaired cat?

For reference, here are our cats' names:

Tazz and Bernie (named by previous owner)
Fluffy (for the longhairedness...)
Molly (named by neighbor, RIP)
Hunter (named for personality, successfully adopted out)
Tiger (named for coloration, successfully adopted out)
Spot (ditto on both counts)
Callie (as noted above)
Mouse (named for personality, though he's getting over it a little)

I also go with the idea of waiting to name her. She'll likely name herself!

-Catharine

[harvey]

find out how to say "cat" in different languages and pick a nice sounding one?

I did this, too. "Paka" is Kiswahili for "cat".

Paka was part Abyssinian, a breed noted for being intelligent, alert, and
on-the-go. He was a great explorer, hunter, and jumper. Every time a
cupboard door was openned -- whoosh -- in he went. One of his favorite
places to relax was draped around my neck, where he'd often snooze.

A friend called her cat K.C. (or Casey, depending on pronounciation, short
for Kitty Cat It was a very small, but scrappy female.

-----

Based on what I've read here, seems like there ought to be a new thread
for Favorite Cat Tales (annecdotes about one's cats).

[Caeristhiona]

What about some famous literary cat names?

She looks like a Mungojerrie or a Jennie-annie-dots to me.

[MermaidMaddie]

I agree with waiting to see what name fits. Unfortunately, that can change over time. Like my mom's cat. He's a big oaf...of norwegian Forest Cat or Maine Coon extraction (through really he is a mutt so we're not sure...I'm leanin toward Maine coon because of his personality traits, love of water, and freakishly large paws.). She named him Scamp, because when he was little she said it fit his personality. She still insists it does...but if you saw the big hairy oaf now...he's just too big to be a "scamp". I call him Behemoth.

I usually give my animals human names too. I once had several betta fish, and the ones I recall right off hand were named Gia, Giuliana, Giovanni and Giuseppe I spent half the day cleaning aquariums, betta bowls, back then etc. Almost needed my own "fish room." LOL. Was/am a bit of a fish geek.

As for my cats that I have now, all have human names or "sorta human-could be a nickname" names.
Betsy was already named that when I got her, and it fits 'cause I call her Betsy Wetsy (which she likes to do on my floor-- all of my cats but one were born to feral cats and rescued as kittens so they have varying degrees of indoor-etiquette.)

Maya came from the animal shelter, the name just seemed to fit better than her previous name (Cleo) though there's really not a "story" about how she became a Maya.

Curly had like a kink in his tail as a baby, it's normal now but he still always holds it in the funniest curled positions. I didn't name him but the name fit so I kept it. If I were going to name him based on personality, I'd have to name him "princess" or "diva", and that position has already been filled by his sister.

Ziek got his name for two reasons. For one, it is a real human name (at least, Zeke is,) and besides, 'ziek' is the dutch word for 'sick' and he was extremely sick when I took him, in so the name fit. Ironically, He's the healthiest of all my cats now...no residual health probs from is rough beginnings, unlike the other 2 young'ns.

Maddie was a tough one to name. My mom wanted me to call her "Eve" (short for evil ) because she's such a naughty brat, but I finally ended up on Maddie after at least a month of thinking.

So it might be good to wait until you've spent some time with your kitty and gotten to know her, as others have said. Unless you come up with a name based on her appearance, in which case I guess you don't have to know her first

[gypsygirl]

On the same idea of using 'cat' in a different language as a name, there's the word Minino (or Minina) in Spanish, which roughly translates to Moggie.

[featherheadfop]

I have always wanted to name a cat schroedinger, but I suppose that's somewhat evil of me .

[kristin]

I have always wanted to name a cat schroedinger, but I suppose that's somewhat evil of me .

Ok, had to have my husband explain that to me.

We did get her this weekend and she is adorable but alas she is still nameless. I'm leaning toward either Agatha, Hermione or Henrietta. My husband has now started suggesting naming her after some sort of subatomic partical. No idea. (Thanks Feather.)

The bigger problem at the moment is Jasper keeps trying to bite her throat and is making her scream. I've dealt with cats hissing and growling when they meet or batting at each other a bit but these two haven't done any of that. He follows her or she follows him, then he gets crazy, flips her and bites her throat. I have gotten two different bits of advice on this from other people I know with cats.

One is let them fight it out. (He's about 17# and she is small enough to stand under his body. )
Two is be the alpha cat and take her away from him when he bites her.

Thoughts?

[featherheadfop]

I love the names of subatomic particles XD. "Quark" actually came from a James Joyce novel, Finnigan's Wake. And then two of the different "flavors" of Quark - up, down, top, bottom, strange charm - were almost named "truth and beauty", before they decided it was too deranged a name even for particle physicists . And then there are WIMPS and MACHOS and ...

oh wait, this thread is about cats! XD

But I have had this cat-fighting problem before, and this is my advice and advice I have heard:
I say let them fight it out, at least for a while -- it may well resolve itself, cats are territorial, so it takes time for them to get used to new potential rivals. But I have also heard that this territorialism is often smell-based, so if you rub them with the scent of one another, so that they share smells, they may come to terms with the foreign smell sooner rather than later. I've also heard that a good way to stop cat fights is to pour water all over them when they battle, if you don't mind a wet carpet ! Best of luck

[a.r.dobbs]

Fighting cats = target practice for squirt guns.

[kristin]

Fighting cats = target practice for squirt guns.

Actually I have a wonderful plant mister that can be set to stream instead of mist. I can get 20 feet with that sucker. But I usually only use it for getting them off the dining room table or stopping them scratching the screens. (Or as Jasper likes to do, flipping and swinging the artwork, grrrr.)
Hmmm..... It's amazing sometimes how I overlook the obvious. My husband often tells me there could be an elephant standing next to me and I would never notice, but I do notice really small things, details and such(like a speck of dirt, invisible to the human eye, on a glass or dish.)

[fae]

But I have also heard that this territorialism is often smell-based, so if you rub them with the scent of one another, so that they share smells, they may come to terms with the foreign smell sooner rather than later. I've also heard that a good way to stop cat fights is to pour water all over them when they battle

this is exactly what my grandmother used to do when ever she got a new cat!

she would take the new cat and rub it's cheek and shoulders against all of the cheeks and shoulders of the existing cats. it worked too! of course i'm not sure if it was because they now shared scents or if it caused a kind of indignant solidarity among the cats against the crazy human.

when ever they did fight (usually during mating season) she would dump a pail of water at the fighting pair and that usually settled things right up!

my son, who is 4yrs old, took one long look at the photo (he loves cats) and named her Molly.

of the 3 names you mentioned i vote for agatha!

[Spoons]

Great photo, and a nice looking little kitten. My wife promptly suggested "Merry" for a name.

Which is kind of curious, because our cats (currently, six of them) have come by their names somewhat awkwardly. Most of our cats' names have not come easily or quickly, so perhaps the speed with which my wife thought of "Merry" is a sign of something.

For the record, here are the names of our cats, and how they got their names:

Denver. Named for the Colorado city. (My wife is a Coloradan, and Denver is also the home of the Broncos.) His brother, San Francisco, was named for the California city. (We enjoyed a great holiday in SF once, and it is also the home of the 49ers.) Sadly, San Francisco passed away a few years ago, but Denver is still with us.

Annie. I thought "Chicago" would be a great name, but my wife vetoed it. "No more naming cats after cities whose sports teams you like," she said. "Something simple, like 'Annie.'" So Annie it became.

Shiloh. This was a rescue of a farm kitten whose mother rejected it. The farm was on the Olde Shiloh Road, so Shiloh she became.

Fiona. After San Francisco's death, we needed another cat, so we went to the pound. The cat who was to become Fiona was known as "number 5623" at the pound, so she needed a name when we adopted her. My wife liked Fiona, though perhaps watching the movie Shrek the night before we went to the pound had something to do with it.

Hope. Hope came to us with her name already in place. Apparently, she was one of a litter of three, named Faith, Hope, and Charity. Faith and Charity easily found homes, but nobody wanted the little all-black kitten named Hope. She charmed us into wanting her, and continues to do so.

Tigger. Another pre-named cat. His name was given by the little girl of the family who originally adopted him from the pound--and after he had settled into their home, she developed an allergy to him. Poor Tigger, he had to find another home. Fortunately, we had room.

Whatever name you choose (of your three, I rather like Hermione, but my wife continues to vote for Merry), you must remember that T.S. Eliot reminded us that the naming of cats is indeed a difficult matter, and each cat has three names: the one you call him or her, the one other cats call him or her, and the one that only the cat knows.

At any rate, she looks like a fine kitten. Keep us posted with her (and your) progress!

[gypsygirl]

I have always wanted to name a cat schroedinger, but I suppose that's somewhat evil of me .

I've always wanted to do that too... but I don't see what's evil about it! When a friend got a kitten a few months ago he asked me for suggestions, and that was my first. He laughed and admitted he'd thought of it, but his girlfriend vetoed it.

Shiloh. This was a rescue of a farm kitten whose mother rejected it. The farm was on the Olde Shiloh Road, so Shiloh she became.

I had a roommate who named a cat along the same lines. She found her in a gutter at the Lexington something, or something Lexington apartments and named her Lexington. Lexxie, for short. Poor little thing was less than a week old and we weren't allowed pets, so we smuggled her in and kept her for about six weeks, till the next break when the roomie was heading back to her parents.

[Cloud Mountain]

Let's go to Ny. One of the greatest cities in the world is Ny.